Information about Needle Point for Church

Our church would like to add some needlepointed "kneelers" to the communion
rail. Can anyone supply me with information about what type of material
should be/could be used and where to obtain supplies and/or patterns for
such a project.

Thanks in advance for your help.

Michael F. Parenteau

Here is a site that may give you some ideas
http://www.english-heritage-needlework.com/kneeler.htm

Dawne

First, who will needlepoint the kneelers? At my church, this is done
by a group who meet regularly to stitch. What will the themes be? The
Stages of the Crucifiction? The Gospels? The Life of Mary? Or just
some nice flowers? Once design themes have been chosen, you should
contact your local needlepoint store. They will help with the
materials, commisisoning canvases and teaching those who want to learn
how needlepoint.

Good luck! It is a great project and will add so much to your church!

S.Cordelia

Thanks for all the information.

I was contacted by a member of the "Altar" group. They are responsible for
creating/supplying tapestries and various coverings for the altar area. The
stitching will be done by members of the church who have already been
contacted and are eager to help out. I was asked if I could supply
information about materials, designs, "where to buy" etc. I believer that
one of the Pastors has some ideas regarding what he wants to see on the
kneelers.

Michael F. Parenteau

"S.Cordelia" wrote in message
...
First, who will needlepoint the kneelers? At my church, this is done
by a group who meet regularly to stitch. What will the themes be? The
Stages of the Crucifiction? The Gospels? The Life of Mary? Or just
some nice flowers? Once design themes have been chosen, you should
contact your local needlepoint store. They will help with the
materials, commisisoning canvases and teaching those who want to learn
how needlepoint.

Good luck! It is a great project and will add so much to your church!

S.Cordelia

I was asked if I could supply
information about materials, designs, "where to buy" etc. I believer that
one of the Pastors has some ideas regarding what he wants to see on the
kneelers.

I'll try to put the information I have into categories so it's easy to
review.

Material

Use wool, and pretty much only wool. Nothing else will last long
enough. While the mesh size people use varies, many churches use 10
mesh. While this seems as if it is too big for detail, it works well
from kneelers because it goes quickly and ever people who haven't
needlepointed can use it easily.

Designers

Outside of the sites already recommended (which are both great) there
are two designers in the US who specialize in chruch needlework, Davie
Hyman (http://www.daviehyman.com) and Bidwell Drake (doesn't have a
website). Both ahve also written outstanding books to help you --see
the book section below).

Books

There are a number of books which can help you with this project.

Bidwell Drake has written a book on making and caring for church
kneelers which is outstanding.

David Hyman wrote a book called The Diagonal Basketweave. She wrote
it originally to help congregations with kneeler projects, but it is
quite simply the best book on the subject. Even experienced stitchers
will find it helpful.

Then there are books for kneeler project specifically. Many of these
are out of print, but I think The Chruch Kneeler Book (I can't find my
copy at the moment) is still in print. Embroidered Chruch Kneelers by
Barabra Thompson and Wendy Trewin has osme instructional material and
lots of pictures of kneelers in UK chruches. Needlepoint for Churches
by Patricia Agnew goes into detail about doing the project, including
things like making the kneelers and extimating how much wool will be
needed. I believe she has some other books on the subject as well.

There are also books from specific places which have kneelers about
the work. I have one from Salisbury Cathedral and I think there is
one from the National Cathedral in Washingto, DC.

Internet

Since this is a favorite topic of mine, I have done a fair amount of
searching and many churches have pictures of their kneeler projects
out there. When I was still the Needlepoint Guide at About.com I had
links to many of them (http://needlepoint.about.com). The list is
still there but it is out-of-date. Putting "church kneeler" in to
google and perhaps "needlepoint" or "tapestry" as well would be a good
place to start.

HTH
Keep Stitching,
Janet Perry
http://www.napaneedlepoint.com

While nothing is wrong with "pre-designed" pieces or commissioning
from a Big Name Designer, you may want to check with your local guild
chapter, area LNS, and other churches to see if a local commission is
possible. If there are liturgical designers in your own community,
you can interview prospects, check out their previous work, and
ultimately do the project "up close and in person" much more readily.
There are several people here who do absolutely stunning work, even
though this part of the country leans more toward denominations that
do not use kneelers, vestments, etc.

Susan

"Michael F. Parenteau" wrote in message ...
Our church would like to add some needlepointed "kneelers" to the communion
rail. Can anyone supply me with information about what type of material
should be/could be used and where to obtain supplies and/or patterns for
such a project.

Thanks in advance for your help.

Michael F. Parenteau